


Test Ride

by fightforyourwrite



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Bikers, F/M, Mechanics, Motorcycles, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fightforyourwrite/pseuds/fightforyourwrite
Summary: In which Hilda fixes up an old motorbike and forces Hilbert to help.
Relationships: Touko | Hilda/Touya | Hilbert
Kudos: 8





	Test Ride

**Author's Note:**

> Did I just write this to establish my hc that when Hilda leaves Unova to find N, she does so on the back of a motorcycle?
> 
> It's more likely than you think.

Hilbert sits on a stool and reads a book detailing various battle strategies of an unconventional nature. Hilda’s hands are deep inside the innards of an old motorcycle. 

The garage of her Nuvema home seems to be dedicated to her quest of restoring the old bike, as there are random parts and manuals inhabiting nearly every corner. Hilbert never took her for the grease monkey type, but then again, he didn’t take himself for one either and was spot on about that (if the many dropped wrenches were any indication.)

For some reason, Hilda is determined to keep Hilbert around despite his few mess ups.

“Bertie, can you pass me the phillip’s head?” she asks. 

She calls him  _ ‘Bertie’ _ because she thinks their names are too similar. He doesn’t mind, so it becomes a little epithet shared between him and her.

Hilbert nods and gets off his stool. It’s a short walk from his seat to her toolbox, where he grabs the desired instrument and hands it to Hilda.

She says a polite “ _ Thanks _ ” and continues on with her task. Hilbert goes back to his stool and continues reading. 

Considering that he himself had trouble working his Xtransciever, Hilbert is very impressed by her mechanical prowess. Most of their time together is spent battling (her usually kicking his ass in the process), and thus he would never know that Unova’s Champion is rather fond of tinkering with old motorcycles.

“Where are you go on that, Hil?” the scruffy-haired seventeen-year-old asks as he sits down.

Hilda shrugs and keeps working on her vehicle. “I dunno. Maybe up to Undella, take this thing near the ocean.”

Eventually, Hilda finishes adjusting the final screw on her bucket of bolts and stands up. She grabs a nearby rag and cleans the grease off her hands. 

“Alright, I think it’s ready,” she announces. 

Hilbert closes his book with a satisfying snap and glances over to the bike. Frankly, it doesn’t seem different from when Hilda first brought it, minus the excess of dust and gunk. 

Hilda had bought it from some shady greaser she found online, then met up with him in a Castelia City alleyway. Thankfully, she had Hilbert come with her to pick up the bike. It was dirty when she got it, but it shined like a diamond once Hilda forced Hilbert to help her scrub it down. Thankfully, her Seismitoad’s Water Gun made the cleaning process a lot easier. 

The bike was in satisfactory condition at the time of purchase — according to Hilda, it could only run as long as one was okay with the ugly sputtering noises the engine made, the slippery clutch, and being punched in the crotch every time one went over a bump. Suffice to say, Hilbert did  _ not _ join her on the initial test ride. 

With some new suspensions, a couple of wrenches, brackets, a can carb cleaner, a shiny new kickstart pedal, some help from Hilbert, plenty of tears, too many curse words, and lots and lots of elbow grease, it’s fair to say that Hilda has taken good care of it.

“Wow, Hil, it’s… it’s a bike,” Hilbert tries. “Looks like one of those old Galarian models.”

“Only in appearance,” Hilda says. “These babies are made in Kanto, if you take care of ‘em they’ll last forever.”

She walks over to the bike, finds the kickstart pedal, and pulls it out. “Now, time for the moment of truth,” she announces in a dramatic tone. 

With a mighty stomp, she pushes down on the lever with her foot. 

To both her and Hilbert’s delight, the engine of the motorbike starts up with a glorious roar. Hilda is ecstatic, hopping in joy and looking like she’s about to bounce around the room like a hyperactive Minccino. 

“Oh, thank Reshiram and Zekrom!” she cheers to the roof of the garage. With joyous haste, she dashes over to her companion and playfully grabs him by his jacket lapels. “It worked! By Arceus, Bertie, it worked!” 

Hilbert tries to play it cool, but the sight of a jubilant Hilda always makes him break out into a smile. 

She lets go of his lapels and giddily approaches her working bike. She looks the engine up and down. By the way she observes the mechanisms, everything seems to be in order. 

“I guess it’s time to join forces with those bikers near Tubeline Bridge,” Hilbert remarks, adjusting his jacket lapels. “You’d make a great gang leader.”

“Excuse you, I’d make an  _ amazing _ gang leader,” Hilda corrects with a smirk. She goes over to one of the shelves in the garage and grabs two motorcycle helmets. She then walks to Hilbert and holds the smaller one towards him. “Let’s go for a test ride.”

Hilbert blinks and looks hesitant as he takes the headgear. “Uh, you sure it’s safe?”

“Of course,” Hilda assures. She places her full-face helmet over her head of brown hair and does up the straps. She then flips the visor open to look Hilbert in the eye. “Come on, Cheren and Bianca never do this with me. I love ‘em to pieces, don’t get me wrong, but they’re cowards.” 

Hilda then goes to a corner of the garage where a well-worn black motorcycle jacket hangs from a nail in the wall. She had claimed that the jacket belonged to her father, who gave up riding a few months after she was born. The jacket looks a little big for her, but it fits snugly over her usual black denim vest and fits even better once she zips it up and adjusts the straps. She then grabs some gloves from the pockets and slips them onto her hands.

With the helmet still in his hands, Hilbert keeps an eye on Hilda as she approaches her bike. It’s not that he doesn’t trust her on a bike — heck, he had ridden behind her on top of her mother’s old scooter. Except that time, they were zipping through cars in a Castelia City traffic jam, not cruising the open roads in Unova’s south east.

“Or you could stay here,” she brings up as she straddles the vehicle. “I’m sure my mother and her book club would love the extra company. You’re into MILFs, right?”

Hilbert rolls his eyes and finds that he’s getting rather used to Hilda’s favourite kind of humor. He concedes and puts the helmet on, hoping for the best. 

Hilda revs the engine of her bike as Hilbert gets onto the back. The machine buzzes under him and he wonders why Pokemon battles don’t faze him, yet a big bucket of bolts does. 

Suddenly, Hilda reaches back to take his hand. She guides it forward so that it’s on her waist. “Word of advice, it helps to hold onto something,” she says in a voice that’s just a little bit smug. “But if you wanna go splat on the road, that’s fine by me.”

Hilbert can feel a slight blush burning in his cheeks and suddenly he’s thankful that Hilda is facing away from him. His instincts tell him that she’s smirking and probably enjoying every minute of this.

Hilda reaches to the wall and presses a button, soon the garage door begins to open. She revs the engine once more and asks, “You ready?”

Hilbert swallows his fear and replies, “Let’s find out.”

With that said, Hilda flips the kickstand up and rides out of the garage with Hilbert holding on behind her. The bike’s suspensions cushion every bump and the engine vibrates smoothly. 

The sky above them is as clear as Unova’s springtime will allow. The sun is still up, thus giving them plenty of light to enjoy the road. The wind blows in Hilbert’s face, even with Hilda in front of him, and suddenly he finds his fear fading away. 

The more adventurous part of him starts to soar as the world of Unova’s south east zips past him and Hilda in a breathtaking blur. 

**Author's Note:**

> When writing this, I had the "Americaaaaa, fuck yeah" song playing in the background to really help me get into the mindset of a Unova citizen.


End file.
